Memory Lane
by charmedangel025
Summary: Sequel to Addicted. After Nivia is kidnapped, the Alliance gives her memory juice that forces her to see her past with Mal. Can Mal and the crew save her before she goes insane?
1. Taken

Memory Lane

Chapter 1: Taken

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, I lied.**

**Author's Note: Well, it's starting. This is the sequel to "Addicted." If you haven't read that one, I suggest you do, for you'll be confused. (But, don't fret. It's only 10 fairly short chapters.)**

**So, yah. Here it is. Tell me what you think.**

"How we doing, Wash?" Captain Mal Reynolds asked, coming into the through the arch way.

"Clear sky, cap'n. We'll be sailin' free for a while." Wash answered, adjusting one of the controls.

"That's what I like to hear." Mal said, turning and leaving as soon as he had come. He walked swiftly down to the engine room. Kaylee was in there tinkering around with one of the many parts.

"I heard something makin quite the noise down here s'mornin. What's goin on?"

"Already fixed, Cap. But, next time we're planet side, we're gonna need a new part or two."

"I'll see what I can do." Mal said, turning to leave.

"When do you reckon we'll be goin to get her?" Kaylee asked. Mal stopped, and, without turning around, answered, "I don't know."

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The room was white and bright. Too bright. The lights were almost blinding. Nivia Reynolds sat handcuffed on a chair, quit impatient. The door opened, and someone in Alliance uniform came in. Nivia looked at him. She couldn't believe who she was looking at. "Nark, you Alliance now?" She asked as he came closer.

"You're not here to talk about me."

"Cause, the way I see it, once you're a Brown Coat, you stay that way."

"Yah, well this is what happens when The Alliance takes over your planet." Nark said shortly.

"What'd you want?" She asked him, becoming even more impatient.

"I want to know about River and Simon Tam." He ordered. She cocked an eyebrow.

"I dunno who you're talkin about." That was all she needed to say for him to smack her across the face. When she looked at him, she looked more angry.

"I saved your life! I pulled a bullet outta my shoulder to shoot the guy who was gonna kill me. I took you into my home, helped you get better, and this is how you repay me?" She roared. He hit her again, and this time she could feel the blood in her mouth from her split lip.

"Tell. Me. About. The. Tams." Nark said again.

"And why should I do that?" Nivia asked him.

"Because, If you don't, I'll see to it that your husband and his crew are killed." Nivia had to laugh at this.

"No offense, Private, but I think we both know that if you knew where they were, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Fine, have it your way." Nark said, turning on his heel and walking out. Before he exited the room he said, "I'm sure you have some fond memories of that husband of yours." He said. She smiled, and in an effort to irritate him said, "Hell yes. That man used to throw me over the table so fast. And, he used to be able to do the most sinful things to the back of my neck. Actually, I think I conceived my son on that table. "He left the room. When back in his control room, he turned to one of his fellow soldiers and said, "Get a captor. Have her send a wave to her beloved husband. Then give her the juice. Show her what _real _pain is."

**I know that was short... Thats why the second chapters already up! Thought I was gonna leave you hangin there, didn't ya?**


	2. Memory Juice

Memory Lane

Chapter 2: Memory Juice

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, I lied.**

"Mal, we got a wave!" Wash yelled, then added, "It's from Nivia!"

Mal took the stairs, and found his way to the control room. Nivia's bruised face was on the screen.

"Mal," she whispered, "I need you. They've taken me. They want me to tell them about Simon and River. I need you to come get me. Hurry, please-"

"Hey!" Someone yelled from off screen, and it went blank.

"You got a location?" Mal asked Wash.

"Yah. It came from an Alliance ship not too far from Shadow."

"Well, then, let's go." He said, turning to go tell the rest of the crew.

"Sir, you realize what's happenin?" Zoe asked him. Mal didn't say anything.

"I ain't leavin her there."

"Mal-"

"She's my wife. I. Ain't. Leavin. Her." He turned to walk away.

"It's a trap, Sir." She told him. He turned back.

"I know."

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Another Alliance officer came into the white room. Nivia had been sentenced to a corner. She flew at the officer, but three others were there to back him up. The grabbed onto her arms and forced her back into the chair. The remaining officer pulled out a needle, and began walking towards her.

"You get that needle away from me!" She yelled. She hated needles. She still had no idea how she had a tattoo. Well, yes she did. The alcohol had numbed the pain.

"Get the hell away from me!" She screamed again and tried to fight back, get away. But, they held her down tighter.

The officer plunged the needle into her arm, and injected the red liquid into her system. She instantly calmed down. She tried to stand up, but fell over. Nark came over the loud speaker and said, "Bring the chair. She'll become very disoriented. Don't need to give her anything to throw at us when we give her her next dose."

Nivia laid down. She could feel little pricks on her body, like rain.

_The rain poured down in buckets. She laid down on the ground, and felt the water fall on her._

_"Hey!" She heard someone yell, from what seemed far away._

_"Hey!" The boy yelled again, shaking her and startling her. Twelve-year-old Nivia screamed and shot up, hitting fourteen-year-old Mal in the face._

_"God, girl, you just hit unsuspecting heros in the face like that?" He asked, falling back onto his rear end._

_"Hero?" She asked, getting into a more comfortable position on the wet, muddy ground._

_"Hell yes. I'm gonna be a big hero someday."_

The doctors and soldiers watched her from their control room. "What did you mean by 'disoriented'?" One of the soldiers asked.

"That serum will force her to see all of her favorite and worst memories. She'll begin to think they're real, and become angry when she thinks they're not. That's when we step in, say that we'll stop dosing her, if she tells us where River Tam is."

"You realize that her husbands gonna come and try to get her now," Another soldier stated more then asked.

"Yes, and I imagine he'll be quite angry. But, he'll have to bring the whole crew. And thats exactly what we want."


	3. Love, Tears, and Blood

Memory Lane

Chapter 3: Love, Tears, and Blood.

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, I lied.**

Nivia sat in the corner of the room, terrified. She had just refused to tell the Alliance anything about River, so they had given her another dose. Now, she was going back through her memories, and saw them play out right in front of her. But, they weren't there, and only part of her knew that.

_"I still don't see why we can't just tell them." Twenty-old Mal said as he and Nivia sat up on the hill, the two of them naked between two blankets, his arms wrapped around her._

_"Because, if Nathan knew that you and I were together like we are, he would kill you." Nivia told him._

_"But, Niv, we've been doin this little dance for almost a year. I love you, and I want your family to know. Hell, I want the whole gorram town to know."_

_She sat up, pulling the blanket closer to her as she did so._

_"What did you just say?" She asked. She had admitted quite some time ago that, even at eighteen, that she loved him. But, he had never said it to her before. "You heard me," he said, a stupid smile on his face. "I love you."_

_She kissed him, and then put her head back on his chest, and listened to his heart beat._

_"I wanna stay like this forever." She said, breathing in every part of him._

_"Reckon we could, if you would marry me." He said, sounding totally serious._

_She sat up again, and looked at him like he had grown three heads._

_"Did you just ask me to marry you?" She asked, confused._

_"Reckon I did." She shook her head, looking angry, and began to gather her cloths. She slid on her dress from under the blanket, then pulled on her boots and stood up. She began to walk away, down the hill._

_"Niv, wait!" He yelled, running after her. He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him._

_"What do you want me to say, Mal?" She asked, looking as though she was ready to cry._

_"I want you to say that you'll marry me." He said, trying not to smile._

_"You don't mean that," she said, certain that he was only thinking on impulse._

_"The hell I don't!" He said, starting to look angry. "I've known you for five years. I know you better then anyone. Now, I don't know where my life is goin, or what I wanna do, or if I even wanna stay on this god forsaken planet! But, I do know two things. And those are that I love you more then anything, and I want you to be my wife."_

_"I can't." She said as the tears began to fall._

_"And why the hell not?"_

_"Because you make me feel like I've never felt before. You make me feel like I don't gotta be strong. Like I can let you be strong for the both of us, like I'm aloud to be helpless. But I don't wanna feel like that. I _can't_. I need to be strong. I've got five younger brothers and sisters under me. I've gotta be there for them."_

_"Trust me, you'll _never _be helpless. You're the strongest person I know. And, you can still be there for your family. It's not like I'm gonna keep you from them. I love those little hell beasts." She laughed at this. He took her head in his hands._

_"Listen. I've been thinkin about this for almost a year. But, you was too young when I started to, barely seventeen. But, now that you're eighteen, outta school, I feel like we're both ready." She sighed again, trying to hang her head. But, he gently pulled it up so that she was lookin at him._

_"I love you. And the only thing I want right now is for you to be my wife." _

_She kissed his palm of his hand. Then, looked at him and said, "Ask me again."_

_He smiled and asked, "What?"_

_"Ask me again."_

_"Nivia Cassara Aress, will you marry me?"_

_She took a second before smiling and saying, "Yes."_

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"How we doin?" Mal asked.

"We're only about two days away." Wash said, spinning around in his chair. Mal just nodded and walked away. "And he's usually _so_ chatty." Wash said, sarcastically as Zoe sat down on his lap.

"He want's to get her back. He's been leavin his hatch open at night, just incase some one finds another wave from her. When I walk by, all I hear are those video cards. She's always been his one and only. Even through all those feelings he has for Inara, he knows that Nivia is always his. Like you're always mine."

"Really?" Wash asked, a stupid smile on his face.

"Don't make me say it again, husband. It makes me sound mushy."

Mal knocked on the door to Inara's shuttle. The answer came for him to come in, and he found her burning incense. "I need a favor." Mal said.

"What can I do?" She asked.

"When we get to the Alliance ship, I need you to act like you're there to work. With one of the soldiers. That way, I can get in, and get Nivia out, and some of 'um are distracted."

"I'll do what I can."

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Another dose, another memory.

"Nathan Jullian Aress!" Nivia yelled out, seeing her oldest brother in front of her.

_"Nathan Jullian Aress!" Nivia yelled, storming into the house._

_"What's wrong, little sister?" He asked, looking all too innocent, bruises covering his face, and his left hand was wrapped in a bandage._

_"You know gorram straight what's wrong. I just left a dirty, bruised, and bloody Malcolm Reynolds. And, from the looks of it, he didn't do such a bad job hurtin you, either." Nathan didn't say anything._

_"Look at me!" Nivia demanded, stepping closer to him. He complied._

_"Why in God's name would you go after Mal?" Again, he didn't say anything. She punched him in the shoulder. "Answer me!"_

_"I found out about you and him! I over heard you and Alex talkin about what happened up on that hill!" Nivia's mouth hung open. She couldn't believe that Nathan knew that she and Mal had had sex. She wanted him to know that they were together, but not like that._

_"And you saw it fit to beat him up?" She asked._

_"He took my little sister's virginity. What was I supposed to do?"_

_"What I did when I found out that you and that girlfriend of yours were doin the same thing. Kept your mouth shut!"_

_Nathan didn't say anything until came the question, "Why him?"_

_"Why not Mal?" She asked right back. "I've known him for years. He's one of the best people I know! He's my best friend, we know each other inside and out. Believe it or not, but he knows me better then you do. Now, I'm gonna marry him, so I would appreciate it if you didn't fight with him anymore!"_

_She took a mental step back, realizing what she had just said. Nathan looked like he had just had a stroke of genius. "Mom! Pa! Everybody! Come in here!" The family had already been informed that she and Mal were together, but she wasn't really ready to tell them that they were getting married. _

_Daniel and Nicholas came in first, but at the same time as their parents. Then came Era holding Hanna's hand, and Aiden on Ava's hip. Nivia was giving Nathan the death stare when he said, "Mal and Nivia are-" Nivia threw herself at him. Literally. She flew through the air and landed on top of him, forcing him to the ground. He struggled underneath her as she pushed her arm onto his throat, trying to make him understand._

_"Now you listen here. I understand that you're mad. But we're gonna do this right, make it a happy thing! And you ain't gonna do this wrong just because you're mad! You hear me!" He slowly nodded and she pushed her self back onto her feet. "Everyone can go back to what ever it is they was doin." When no one moved, she said, "Really, it's nothin. Everythins fine." She turned to walk out the door when she heard from behind her, "Nivia and Mal is gettin married." She stopped, then turned around slowly. She shook her head while scowling at Nathan, then turned to leave again._

_"Nivia." Her father called. She turned back again. She didn't say anything, worried that no matter what, it would be the wrong thing._

_But, her father was almost smiling. "We're gonna pretend that this didn't happen, and that your brother ain't the monkey's ass he can be. Now, you bring this boy over. Do this right."_

_She nodded. "Yes sir." Then, throwing one more scowl in Nathan's direction, she left._

"Yes sir." Nivia said, pushing herself closer to the wall. Then, as the memory ended, she fell asleep.

The general watched from the control room. "Give her one more chance to tell us. Then, step up the dose."


	4. Bullet Holes

Memory Lane

Chapter 4: Bullet Holes.

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, I lied.**

Mal walked back onto the bridge. Wash sat there, tinkering with the controls. "How far away are we?" He asked, walking closer. Wash sighed. "The same distance away we were the last time you asked me. Which was..." He thought for a moment. "Ten minuets ago. A personal best for you." Mal just rolled his eyes. As Mal walked away, Wash called over his shoulder, "Still a day away!"

When Mal walked into the dining room, River was lying on the table. "What in rutten hell are you doin' lil' Albatross?" He asked.

"I'm trying to hear her. But, she's too far away." River answered, staring at the ceiling. He headed to Inara's shuttle. "What'cha come up with?"

"Well, there are quite a few officers in the database. I told them that I had selected them. That's your way in." She told him.

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Nivia screamed out in pain. Her left shoulder began to bleed. She grabbed a hold of it, trying to keep the blood inside.

_Nivia screamed out in pain. Her left shoulder began to bleed. She grabbed a hold of it, trying to keep the blood inside. "Baby, you stay strong for me," Mal said, pushing his hand on top of hers._

_"I'll be fine.." She said, wincing in pain again._

_"I need the doc!" He yelled. A distance away, Nivia heard a soldier pleading for his life._

_"Please, don't. I have a wife, a child!"_

_"Then you shouldn't have gone up against us." The soldier said. Nivia couldn't let him die. She dug into her shoulder. She screamed and rooted around for the bullet. She pulled it out._

Nivia dug into her bleeding shoulder. She screamed in pain. When she pulled her thumb and index finger out of her shoulder, there was nothing between them, but she saw the bullet.

_She picked up her gun, went up behind the Alliance soldier and shot him in the head. She extended her hand, and hoisted her friend up. "You gotta be more careful, Nark."_

"Wait, you mean to tell me that she _helped_ you?" The doctor asked Nark. He stayed silent. The doctor turned around and began to walk out of the room.

"And just where the hell do you think you're going?" Nark asked.

"Me and some of the others have a visitor coming in." Then, when he was almost out of the door, he turned around. "You better be glade she hadn't been shot any other place. That could have killed her. And, if you keep going, you will." When he was gone, Nark almost smiled.

"That's sort of the plan."

**Next chapter coming soon. This is one of those "rising action" chapters.**


	5. Breaking In

Memory Lane

Chapter 5: Breaking In

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, I lied.**

_Nivia was in the town square when she saw the ship coming in. It was an Alliance ship. She remembered them well. The ramp came down, and Independent soldiers were thrown off. She suddenly remembered when they had taken the Valley. Mal had hidden her under a pile of bodies. He knew that if she was captured as well, that she'd never get the medical treatment she needed. She had almost gagged. And when she finally pulled herself out from under the pile of her decaying friends only to find the valley deserted._

_And then, Mal stood up and brushed himself off. He looked around for her, and their eye's connected. Then, she ran to him and jumped into his arms. Her Mal was home..._

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_There was beeping. A loud, annoying beeping. Nivia's eye's fluttered open. The room was white, but not as bright as it could have been. Mal sat next to her, asleep in his chair, but his hand entangled in hers. "Mal?" She questioned. He sat straight up and immediately said, "I wasn't asleep, what're you talkin 'bout?" She looked at him strangely. "All I said was your name." He nodded. "Do you remember anything?" He asked._

_She thought for a moment, then started to cry. She remembered everything._

_"The baby?" She asked after a few minuets. Mal was silent. _

_She cried harder._

Inara's shuttle connected with the Alliance Cruiser. "Now remember, stay here for a while. Don't go doing anything heroic." She told Mal, collecting herself and leaving. He paced for a while, then when he couldn't wait any longer, he radioed Wash.

"I think I'm goin in." He said.

"Do you think she has the crew distracted yet?" Wash asked.

"All that woman needs to do is walk into a room and they're distracted. I'm goin in. If you don't hear from me in two hours, send in the rest of the crew in."

"But, if we don't hear from you, doesn't that most likely mean you're dead?"

"Reckon it will, but I ain't gonna leave her in there."

And then he walked off the shuttle.

_"Don't be strangers, now." Nivia told the crew. She looked at Wash and said, "You take good care of my ship."_

_"_Your _ship?" Mal asked._

_"Well, you bought it with _our_ money." She told him. He smiled._

_"You just keep thinkin that, woman." She said goodbye to the crew and they went onto Serenity, but Mal stayed behind. "Please come with me." He said, rubbing her upper arms. She smiled a sad smile._

_"Nathan was a part of me. And now that he's gone... it just feels like a part of me is dyeing. And, I think I just have to let it die for me to move on."_

_"I don't want that part of you to die alone." He told her. She looked into his eyes._

_"Everyone dies alone. I gotta deal with this on my own. And I can't do that if I'm over run with all them people. As much as I already love them, I gotta deal with this in my own way."_

_They shared on last kiss, before he got on Serenity._

The remaining officer lie dead on the floor. It felt like it had taken hours for him to make it through all the reinforcements. All though, there weren't many. Most of them were with Inara, and he had gone unnoticed by many as well. Mal walked into the bright, white room. Nivia was hidden in the corner, talking to herself. Or was she?

"Everyone dies alone. I gotta deal with this on my own. And I can't do that if I'm over run with all them people. As much as I already love them, I gotta deal with this in my own way."

Mal remembered that conversation. He squatted down in front of her. "Nivia, can you hear me?" But, her memory ended, and she instantly fell asleep. He went to pick her up.

"And just where do you think you're going?" The voice asked from behind him. Mal turned around.

"Nark?" He asked, surprised.

"It's been a long time, Malcolm." He said, stepping closer.

"So, you're the Son-of-a-bitch that decided to make my wife an experiment." Mal said, sounding angry.

"Not an experiment. I just remember all the stories Nivia had told me about your life together. I thought that the pain of reliving all that would make her crack, tell us about the Tams. Apparently, I underestimated her."

"You obviously don't know her very well, then." Mal said, going for his gun. But, Nark pointed his at Nivia. "Put the gun down, or she dies." Mal reluctantly complied.

"I really did think the memories would work..." Nark said, but trailed off, as if he was thinking about what else could have worked.

"Well, we've had a lot more good times then bad."

"But the bad ones are the one that stand out in our minds. They're what make us cringe, cry. They make us afraid and untrusting."

"Not Nivia. She's the strongest person I know. Inside _and _out. She's been through a lot, and that's all the more reason she don't let too much get to her. Now, I'm gonna take my wife, take my companion, and go back to my ship."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Suddenly, there was a loud bang.

"Well, you don't really got anything to say 'bout it." Jayne said from behind them, gun in hand and the rest of the crew behind them, weapons at the ready. Nark fell dead. Mal went back to Nivia and picked her up. "Lets go get 'Nara."


	6. Along For The Ride

Memory Lane

Chapter 6: Along for the Ride.

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, I lied.**

**Author's Note: Well, alas, this one has also come to an end. But there will be another one, so have no fear.**

When her eye's fluttered open, Nivia only had an inkling as to where she was. The room looked familiar. And when she saw Mal sitting in the chair next to her, asleep, she realized she was on Serenity. _Wow, talk about deja vue,_ she thought. Mal stirred awake, and when he looked at her, she said, "We gotta stop meetin' like this." He chuckled softly.

Her head was pounding, so she stayed in the position she was in. "When did you come?" She asked him. A few days ago. You've been out for about two." He told her. She nodded, and didn't exactly know what to say.

"What exactly happened while you were on that cruiser?" He finally asked.

"They kept dosing me with this stuff they called 'memory juice.' Mad me remember everything about our life. It was designed to make me talk, drive me crazy, the usual."

"Them Alliance sure got a way of makin an impression." He said. She tried to laugh, but winced in pain instead. Simon came in. After he asked her how she was feeling and such, he began to explain things. "That memory juice has almost modified you brain. It's almost as if it broke down the walls that separated the past from the present, forcing you to relive those memories in full capacity."

"Could you explain that as if you weren't a doctor?" Mal asked. Simon sighed and said,

"Due to the high doses of that medication, your whole body relived those memories, not just your mind. I had to stitch the bullet hole in your arm, and during the exam, it appeared as though you had _just _miscarried, but that happened five years ago."

Mal was suddenly glaring at him. "You mean to tell me you were down in my wife's nethers!"

"I had to. I couldn't' be sure what they had done to her while she was there-"

"But still-"

"Mal," Nivia said, stepping in. "He's a doctor, he had to. Let it go." Mal sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Am I gonna be ok?" She asked Simon.

"You'll take a few weeks to recover, but you should be fine."

"_Should_? I want a long term answer, pal."

"Mal, leave the good doctor be." She said, putting her hand on his. She nodded to Simon, who left. Mal looked at her, totally serious. "How would you feel 'bout stayin?" He asked.

"Well, I figure that I'm a fugitive now. Can't exactly go back to Shadow." She had a wicked smile on her face. "But, things ain't gonna be like they was before. We've both changed-" He silenced her with a kiss.

She pulled away long enough to say, "Oh ya, I'm stayin."

**Well, thats it for this one. But, keep an eye out for the next one, "Older and Far Away." Coming soon, I promise**


End file.
